Chapter 3: The Sister
"Took you long enough." Rosalie said as I walked into the tour bus.
"Oh, hush." I told her and sat down after grabbing a pack of Oreo's.
Oh, how I loved this bus. It was my home away from home. When you walked in there was a sofa next to the door that wrapped around the wall front and some of the left wall. It ended next to a black bar that extended about half way the legnth of the bus. In the center of the back wall was a booth for eating, some floor to window legnth cabinets for food. There was a door next to the bar on the left wall that went to a bathroom. In there was a connecting door to a closet. On the right wall was a television.
Rosalie, Angela, and I usually slept on the floor on a full sized air mattress. All over were little personal touches like pillows, pictures, and books.
Rosalie and Angela were flipping through the television channels. They found a channel and stopped when they saw it was my interview with Music and Movies. I rolled my eyes as I watched it.
Half way through it, I fell asleep and woke up when Angela tapped my shoulder. "Come on, Bell. It's time for your rehearsal." She said. I yawned and grabbed the cup of coffee from her hand. We walked into the concert hall and went back stage to meet with Kate.
She was on her blackberry, as always. "Look, I don't care what strings you have to pull! Isabella deserves the best, she will get the best... No, I don't care how much, just do it!... And she expects to have three pots of coffee ready for her tonight... Thank you, bye-bye." I rolled my eyes. "Ahh, and there she is." She came up to me, and gave me and air kiss on each cheek.
She was wearing black heels, black pin striped pencil skirt, a silk and ruffley red button down shirt, and had her sunglasses perched on top of her head.
"You ready for tonight?" She asked.
"Can't wait." I said.
I didn't know why, but I felt nervous. Not nervous because I was performing, but I felt like something bad would happen. In the back of my mind, I was waiting for the sky to fall or something.
When it finally came time for the concert, I drank my two cups of coffee and went onto stage pumped. When I saw the smiling and screaming fans, the worry disappeared.
"How y'all doing tonight?" I said into the microphone. They all screamed. I laughed and pointed to my guitarist, Peter. He started up the first song and I started to sing. About my fifth song through, it was time for a costume change.
I went backstage and changed as fast as possible into a pin striped black skirt that went mid thigh, a blue off the shoulder, long sleeved shirt, and a black fedora. My black cowboy boots stayed on through the whole show.
Within three minutes, I was ready to get back out there. When the singer I was touring with finished his song, he announced my name. I walked out and was starting to feel nervous again.
The first chords to Hurt played. Hurt was a song that I had first heard when I was little. Every time I saw the video from Johnny Cash, I cried like a baby. Now when I sang it, memories I didn't know I had came flooding back.
I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
I was in the back seat with my feat propped up on the center console. Irina and I had been laughing the whole way home from New Mexico. Our mom wasn't making matters any better by telling us ridiculous jokes that didn't even make the slightest sense. Daddy was so tired, and the laughing was giving him a headache.
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I reached up in front and started to change the radio.
"Bella, no." My dad said weakly.
"Come on, Dad. I hate this music." I complained.
I wear this crown of thorns
upon my liar's chair
full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
beneath the stains of time
the feelings disappear
you are someone else
I am still right here
He reached over to knock my hand out of the way but he quickly lost focus on the road.
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt
My mom screamed and Irina and I held tightly to each other as my dad tried to regain his focus on the road. It was too late.
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
It was my fault. I was the reason my mom is dead. I was the one who killed her.
if I could start again
a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
My dad wasn't crazy. He didn't stage that accident like Irina said. I was more at fault than anyone. If I had just listened to him and stopped trying to play with the radio, my mom might still be alive.
I looked out into the audience. That song usually hit home for a lot of them, and many people were crying, including me. The music for the next song started, but I couldn't do it. It felt impossible.
"I'm so sorry." I told them as I walked off the stage.
I could here the gasps of the audience. Kate met me backstage.
"Um, hello? What the hell was that?" She asked.
"Cancel the rest of my tours. I'm going home." I told her.
"What? You won't tour just because you miss Tennessee. Come on, don't play that with me." She told.
"I'm not talking about Nashville. I'm talking about Phoenix." I answered her.
She just stood there as I walked away. I needed to just forget about this. Lay low for a while. I told Rosalie and Angela what was going on, and Rosalie immediately offered to go to Phoenix with me. I agreed, a good friend and the desert may be all I need.
We got in the tour bus, and drove to Arizona. I decided just to buy a car. I had no idea how long I was going to be here, and I didn't want to have to deal with a rental.
I got something smaller. It was a 2011 navy blue convertible Chevrolet Camaro with leather interior and a spoiler. She was so pretty. And yes, my car is a she.
Rosalie and I rode the whole way with the top down. We took turns driving and would switch when the other one got tired.
I soon realized that I would have to call my sister though. As much as we didn't get along, she was still my sister, and hoped she had enough of a heart to at least let me sleep on the couch.
I took out my phone and dialed her number.
"Hello?" She asked.
I took a deep, shaky breath. Talking to her made me realize that my discovery was real, and wasn't a bad dream. "Rina?" I asked her.
"Well, well. If it isn't me beloved baby sister. None other than THE Isabella Swan. I'm proud sis. Truly I am." She said sarcastically.
I was an idiot. I sniffed, trying to hold the tears in. "Dammit, Rina. Can't you at least pretend you like me?" I asked, my voice cracking.
I heard her take a breath. "Bella, just tell me what's wrong."
"What, now you're going to be the caring, perfect big sister?" I asked acidly.
"Bells. You are always going to be my baby sister. Is this about that douche you used to hang out with? The one that's getting married? Or is this about the other douche that you were supposed to marry?" She asked.
"No, it not about Edward or Tyler. It's about... It's about Daddy." I told her.
She sucked in a breath. "Bella, please. Don't waste your whole entire life trying to prove that Dad wasn't insane. We both know that he was."
"Look, I'll talk to you about it when I get home, okay?" I asked her.
"Okay, hold on Charlotte wants to talk to you." She said.
Charlotte was her daughter. She was a sweetheart, but her father was a pig. Irina and I just had this thing for falling in love with either taken men or ass wholes. It was a curse really.
Thankfully, now she had a man that loves her, and also loved Charlotte like his own daughter. His name was Laurent.
"Aunt Bella! Guess what?" She asked.
"What, baby doll?" I asked her.
"I got a pink guitar, so now I can learn and sing in front of a lot of people." She said excitedly.
I laughed. "That's great, darlin'." I told her. "But you know, you have to practice." I told her.
"I know." She said. "Do you want to talk to Mommy again?" She asked.
"Yes. I love you."
"I love you to, Aunt Bella." She said and I heard shuffling.
"So when exactly are you coming?" She asked.
"In like, half an hour." I answered.
"Okay, see you then. Bye."
"Bye." I told her and hung up.
"So?" Rosalie asked me as she turned to the shoulder so we could trade places.
I got out of the car and walked over to the driver's side as she went into the passenger seat. "So?" I asked.
"What is going to happen with your tour? Your sister? Edward?" She asked, nudging me in the elbow as she said Edward's name in a sing song voice.
"Well, fans will get refunds, obviously. My tour will pick up this winter in like November, I think. My sister is letting me stay, I think. And Edward, well, oh shit. I didn't call Alice." I said and slapped my head.
Rosalie shook her head. "No worries. I've got it covered." She called Alice and explained everything. By the time she got off the phone, we were at my sister's mansion. I didn't realize her house was this big.
I got out of the car and knocked on the door. A man wearing a suit that was entirely to hot for this weather opened the door.
"You must be Bella." He said as he gave me a hug. "I'm Laurent." He told me.
One bad side to your sister eloping after three months with a man, you don't even know him. That also pairs with the whole running away from home thing.
"Hi." I told him. Rosalie came behind me and smiled at him.
"And I am Rosalie." She said.
"Hello. Why don't you two come in?" He suggested and laughed.
We walked in and Irina came down. She had gotten even prettier, if that were possible. She wasn't skinny and lanky anymore. She was now perfectly proportioned. She was almost my polar opposite.
At five foot two inches, she was only about two inches shorter than me. Her short, straight pale blonde hair was cut short to her chin, unlike my waist length wavy brown hair. She was tiny bit bigger in the chest area, and her dark brown eyes were the only thing that made people believe we were actually related.
Charlotte was in her arms. She was the spitting image of her mother. Pale blonde hair, petite, and dark brown eyes. Thank God she didn't look like her father. That guy looked like Dracula.
The four year old girl hopped out of her mother's arms and straight to me. "Aunt Bella!"
I laughed. I had only ever seen Charlotte three or four times, which was once ever year for her birthday or Christmas. I hated not visiting her, but I just couldn't handle Irina scolding me like a child for wanting to prove my dad was not insane.
"Hey, girlie." I told her and gave her hug. I looked up at Irina. "Hey." I told her.
She smiled. I looked down so she would see that I was on the verge of tears.
Now, I know what you're thinking. This girl is crazy, but whenever you run away from home at sixteen, and only see your sister once a year for a couple of hours, you get emotional when you come back home. I felt like the prodigal child, coming back home, begging forgiveness.
Laurent must have noticed the change in the atmosphere because he asked Charlotte and Rosalie if they wanted for take a walk in the garden. Irina smiled at him in thanks, and after giving her a kiss, left the room.
Irina came down the last few steps and gave me hug. "I'm so sorry, but Bell, you have to know-,"
I cut her off. "No, Dad didn't stage that accident. It was my fault."
She sighed and led me to the couch. "It wasn't your fault, okay? I remember that night." She said.
"Then why did you blame Dad for all these years?" I asked.
She took a deep breath. "He told me to. I mean, for the first few months I blamed you but kept it on the DL, but daddy saw that I wouldn't even tolerate you anymore. He pulled me to the side and told me that it was his fault not yours. I mean, at the time, I believed him and came up with the conclusion that he was insane. On his death bed though, he told me that when I remembered and when you remembered what happened that night to blame him and not ourselves. He knew that we would kill ourselves if we didn't."
"That doesn't make sense." I told her.
"Bella, he really was mentally insane. He was crazy because he kept blaming himself. It drove him out of sanity. But those last days, when they had him on the meds, he was able to think clearly. He was telling us to blame him, to hate him, because he knew that if we hated ourselves we would end up like him." She said softly.
I cried. Irina wrapped her arms around me. She rocked me like I had seen her do to Charlotte so many times. "How could he want us to hate him?" I asked.
"Bella, Daddy was so ashamed of what he had become. He thought that he didn't deserve our love." She whispered.
"It isn't fair." I whispered.
"I know."
We sat like that for what was probably hours. I heard my phone ring and answered it without looking at the caller ID.
"Bella, are you okay?" Edward's frantic voice asked.
I laughed. "I'm fine." I said.
"I saw what happened at the concert on TV. What exactly did happen? And where are you? Alice isn't telling me anything." He said.
I hated when he went into protective mode. It was aggravating. I mean, I was twenty one, I could take care of myself.
"I can't really explain it over the phone." I told him.
"Then where are you, I'll meet you." He said.
"I'm kind of in Phoenix right now." I told him softly.
He took a deep breath. "Oh." The sadness was evident in his voice. "Well then when are you coming back?"
"I don't know." I told him.
After a short conversation and a goodbye, I hung up and sighed.
"Don't even think about it." Irina told me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"He's engaged. Don't go down that road, baby sis. I've been there." She said.
"I'm not going down any road with Edward." I told her.
"That's what they all say." She said lowly.
I rolled my eyes.
EPOV:
I got off the phone with Bella and it was like a wrecking ball to the head. She left, again.
When she left eight years ago, I thought I would never see she again. When I saw her that first day on CMT though, I promised myself I would find her.
I hoped in vain that when I signed my contract with the Titans I would see her, but I never did, until a few days ago.
When I was sixteen, I am not ashamed to admit that I had grown attached to the girl. I had even developed some sort of feelings for her.
When I met Jane though, it was as if the feelings for Bella vanished, only to find out that they were still just below the surface. When I saw her at the coffee shop, and she slapped my arm, I knew she was still the same little tree climbing Monkey that she always was. Fame and fortune couldn't change that.
Then, right after I had just gotten her back, I wrecked it like a fool. I kissed her, and damn was she a good kisser. I had never felt that way with Jane, and multiple times did I contemplate calling off the wedding.
I was torn between two girls who were polar opposites in every way imaginable. Bella had long brown hair and dark brown eyes, while Jane had short blonde hair and light blue eyes. Jane was much more dramatic and let the fame get to her head, where Bella was much more down to earth. One was a pop princess and the other was country cutie. Hell, even there names were opposites. Plain Jane to Beautiful Isabella. How could I be torn between them.
Every guy would kill to be with Jane, of course they would kill to be with Bella too.
This was too much for me to figure out. I mean, it was almost as if Bella was avoiding me. Yesterday though, she sang the song that I had written a few days before she left, and yes, secretly it was about her, she didn't know that though. She had finished it, she had finished the last verse. Adding only two or three lines.
This charming and handsome man,
Is really just a sham,
So listen as I tell you again.
It felt like a slap in the face as she sang that part, looking directly at me. I realize that it was a douche thing to do, letting Jane sit in my lap, knowing Bella would walk through the door. I could not get her off though, she was like a blood-sucking leech.
Another thing to add to the list of opposites- Jane is a girl who loves PDA, but Bella hates when the guy she is with hugs her or even wraps his arm around her in public.
I thought back to a time when she was thirteen. It was a month or two before she found out she was moving, and a guy in ninth grade asked her out.
I knew this Mike guy personally, and I really didn't like him. He was on the JV football team, and aggravated the varsity to no end.
Well, anyway, he was with her at the school fair and wrapped his arm around her and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Anyone who didn't know her, would think she liked it because of the soft smile she gave. I knew that smile though- it was a sarcastic one.
That's the smile she gave me when she wanted to say "Fuck off you son of a bitch before I tear your limbs off." God did I enjoy that girl's company.
I highly doubt the PDA thing changed, though. Very rarely did I see a picture of her and Tyler do anything more than hold hands.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I felt someone slap the back of my head. I shook it and looked at Jasper.
"Dude, where did you go?" He asked.
I shook my head. "To hell if I know."
He barked out a laugh. "Why don't you just admit you love Bella, call off the wedding, and ride off into the sunset?" He asked.
I rolled my eyes and leaned back on the sofa. "Dude, you're an idiot. It doesn't happen like that." I said.
He sat down next to me. "Whatever bro. Whatever."
I shook my head. "She left."
Song: Hurt by Johnny Cash
So, this was a confusing chapter. I confused myself writing it, so I rewrote and rewrote until it was understandable to me. So, if you have any questions just leave me a review! But, just as a warning, much more drama ahead. Did you really think I would fix the crazy problem this early in the story? Hehe. Next week, Cher Bebe's!
Tell me what you think! R&R!
-LAYN
